MLB

Ron Gardenhire touts Miguel Cabrera as AL MVP

DETROIT (AP)

If Ron Gardenhire had a vote for AL MVP, he would cast it for
Miguel Cabrera.

''I'm just tipping my hat to Cabrera, he's the best player in
this league,'' the Minnesota manager said Friday before the series
opener in Detroit was postponed by rain. ''He's going for a Triple
Crown, that's an MVP season. His team is in a playoff hunt not
solely dependent on him, but he's the reason they're in it right
now.''

The Tigers gained ground in the playoff race hours after the
washout, pulling within 1 1/2 games of AL Central-leading Chicago
when the White Sox lost 6-2 at the Los Angeles Angels. Detroit also
moved within 5 1/2 games of Oakland for the second wild card.

The rainout will be made up Sunday night as part of a
doubleheader.

Detroit will send Doug Fister (9-9) to the mound Saturday
afternoon - not Rick Porcello, who was scheduled to start Friday
night - and the Twins plan to stick with Samuel Deduno (6-4) in the
series opener.

The Tigers will pitch Drew Smyly in one of Sunday's games and
might have Max Scherzer available five days after his previous
outing was cut short by a fatigued right shoulder. Minnesota will
have Scott Diamond on the mound in the first game of the
doubleheader and P.J. Walters in the nightcap.

Even though the Twins are playing for only pride, Gardenhire
said they'll take each game seriously because there's a lot at
stake for many teams.

''Out of respect for the game, you go out and give them
everything you have,'' Gardenhire said. ''This atmosphere here does
lift you up a little bit.''

Cabrera leads the AL with a .333 batting average and 130 RBIs -
with a relatively comfortable cushion in each category - and his 41
homers are one behind league leader Josh Hamilton of the Texas
Rangers.

''I think he's the best hitter in the league,'' Gardenhire said.
''All-around power and the whole package - I don't think there's
anybody that close to him.''

With a little less than two weeks left in the regular season, he
has a legitimate shot to be baseball's first Triple Crown winner
since 1967 when Boston's Carl Yastrzemski led with AL with a .326
batting average, 44 home runs and 121 RBIs.

''If you're going for the Triple Crown and you've got those
numbers, you can saber all you want to,'' Gardenhire said. ''I know
Trout is good, too. It doesn't make much sense to me to be arguing
about this.''

''What's pretty crazy is people are talking about him winning a
Triple Crown, but that he's second in MVP to Mike Trout,'' Avila
said. ''That's pretty ridiculous.''

''I don't even want to talk about it because it'll get me
upset.''

Cabrera isn't really eager to talk about the hot topic because
he's genuinely more interested in Detroit playing in consecutive
postseasons, an accomplishment the franchise hasn't pulled off
since the 1934-35 seasons.

''We need to focus on winning games,'' he said.

Cabrera acknowledged it has been awkward to hear the Comerica
Park crowd chanting, ''M-V-P! M-V-P!'' when he has stepped to the
plate recently.

''It's kind of weird for me,'' he said.

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, the 2006 AL MVP, said
Cabrera's chances will improve if he can help the Tigers catch
Chicago.

''It would be an easier decision if Detroit gets into the
playoffs,'' Morneau said. ''He changed positions - that hasn't been
talked about.''

When designated hitter Victor Martinez needed surgery during the
winter and the Tigers signed first baseman Prince Fielder, they
needed to move Cabrera from first to third and he did so without a
bit of resistance.

''I said, `Yes,' right away,'' Cabrera recalled.

Cabrera hasn't been a Gold Glove candidate at third base, but he
hasn't been awful as some expected him to be, with 13 errors in 148
games. The burly slugger - listed as 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds -
isn't going to burn up the basepaths.

Trout, meanwhile, has an all-around game that gives him an edge
over Cabrera in sabermetrics.

''It's not like the kid, Trout, is not certainly a deserving
candidate,'' Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. ''I'm not
downplaying what Trout's done.

''I mean, the guy's a potential Triple Crown winner. If he wins
the Triple Crown and sabermetrics is going to say that Trout should
be the MVP that would be embarrassing to every writer in baseball
if a guy won the Triple Crown and didn't win the MVP.''

Related Stories

Member Comments

Please note by clicking on "Post comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be Polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator.